TRANCEFUSION Trancefusion

Avi Ronen is going to
change how you view
not only dance music but
also the guitar’s role in that style. With
Trancefusion, Ronen has created a crosscultural,
genre-busting collection of tunes
that will obliterate stereotypes and boundaries
with its mix of techno beats, Middle
Eastern melodies, and killer guitar work.
The idea for this project came many years
ago when Ronen was exposed to Goa
trance music in his native Israel. “When
I first heard it, I thought it was lame,” he
admits, “but then a friend took me to an
outdoor party where it was playing and it
was all over. I fell in love with it.”

Ronen’s travels would take him to India
and the Far East before settling on the island
of Maui, where he works as a guitar builder
and musician. The bulk of the guitar tracks
on Trancefusion were played on instruments
built by Ronen. On the opener, “Tie Die,”
he plays a guitar made of mango wood that
he claims has “sustain from here to the
moon.” The tune features spooky synths
and haunting vocals that hypnotize for several
minutes before the guitar comes in,
with crying bends, dreamy echo, and yes,
gobs of sustain. The rest of the signal chain
was “a wah, a Tube Screamer, and a 7-watt
Little Lanilei tube amp.” Other guitar tones
on the album were created with a Boss GS-
10 run direct in stereo.

Joining Ronen on the album are DJ Gidi
Snapir and vocalist Keren Porat-Snapir and
they spin trippy tapestries of techno that
can be rocking, as on “Teti Beti,” pulsing
(“Slicer”), or pensive (“Janata Chill”). Spin
this record at your next party and see what
happens. Maui Tribe.